Wafer taping apparatus and method

ABSTRACT

Wafer taping apparatuses and methods are provided for determining whether taping defects are present on a semiconductor wafer, based on image information acquired by an imaging device. In some embodiments, a method includes applying an adhesive tape on a surface of a semiconductor wafer. An imaging device acquires image information associated with the adhesive tape on the semiconductor wafer. The presence or absence of taping defects is determined by defect recognition circuitry based on the acquired image information.

BACKGROUND

A variety of processes are performed in the fabrication of semiconductordevices. In some semiconductor fabrication processes, one or moresurfaces of a semiconductor wafer are taped, for example, to protectelectrical features on the surface of the semiconductor wafer or toprovide mechanical support of the wafer during subsequent processing.

For example, in a wafer back grinding process, a back grinding tape maybe applied to the front side of a wafer in order to protect theelectrical features at the front side of the wafer from surface damageand/or contamination while the back side of the wafer is thinned by theback grinding process.

The tape is typically applied to the semiconductor wafer using a tapingapparatus, which may include one or more rollers for pressing tape froma tape supply onto the surface of the wafer. However, certain tapingdefects may occur during the taping process, such as the formation ofbubbles or wrinkles in the tape. Identification of such taping defectsis typically reliant on a visual inspection performed by a human. Thatis, a human operator of the taping apparatus may look for taping defectsby visually inspecting, in some cases with the aid of an opticalmicroscopy device, the taped surface of the semiconductor wafer toensure that the wafer is free of taping defects before releasing thewafer to be thinned by the back grinding process. The visual inspectionby a human may introduce errors in the determination of the presence orabsence of taping defects, since humans may misjudge or not see suchdefects. Moreover, since different humans may have different standards,vision, judgment, or the like, the determination of the presence orabsence of taping defects may similarly be different for different humanoperators. Additionally, human inspection for taping defects mayincrease the production costs of semiconductor devices, due at least inpart to the time it takes for a human operator to visually inspect theentire taped surface of the wafer for taping defects.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

Aspects of the present disclosure are best understood from the followingdetailed description when read with the accompanying figures. It isnoted that, in accordance with the standard practice in the industry,various features are not drawn to scale. In fact, the dimensions of thevarious features may be arbitrarily increased or reduced for clarity ofdiscussion.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a wafer taping apparatus, inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a wafer tape defect recognitionsystem, in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 3A is a top view illustrating an example bubble type taping defect.

FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view illustrating the bubble defect shownin FIG. 3A.

FIG. 4A is a top view illustrating an example non-bubble type tapingdefect.

FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view illustrating the non-bubble defectshown in

FIG. 4A.

FIG. 5A is a top view illustrating an adhesive tape on a wafer that doesnot include taping defects.

FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view illustrating the adhesive tape andwafer shown in FIG. 5A.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating a wafer taping method, in accordancewith some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following disclosure provides many different embodiments, orexamples, for implementing different features of the provided subjectmatter. Specific examples of components and arrangements are describedbelow to simplify the present disclosure. These are, of course, merelyexamples and are not intended to be limiting. For example, the formationof a first feature over or on a second feature in the description thatfollows may include embodiments in which the first and second featuresare formed in direct contact, and may also include embodiments in whichadditional features may be formed between the first and second features,such that the first and second features may not be in direct contact. Inaddition, the present disclosure may repeat reference numerals and/orletters in the various examples. This repetition is for the purpose ofsimplicity and clarity and does not in itself dictate a relationshipbetween the various embodiments and/or configurations discussed.

Further, spatially relative terms, such as “beneath,” “below,” “lower,”“above,” “upper” and the like, may be used herein for ease ofdescription to describe one element or feature's relationship to anotherelement(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. The spatiallyrelative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of thedevice in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted inthe figures. The apparatus may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degreesor at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors usedherein may likewise be interpreted accordingly.

Embodiments provided herein include wafer taping apparatuses and methodsthat facilitate automatic detection of taping defects (e.g., bubbledefects and/or non-bubble defects), for example, by acquiring imageinformation of a taped wafer using an imaging device, and analyzing theimage information. In some embodiments, machine learning or artificialintelligence techniques are utilized in the analysis of the acquiredimage information in order to determine whether a taping defect ispresent on the taped wafer. This allows the wafer taping processes toproceed without visual inspection by a human, which reduces oreliminates human errors in the determination of taping defects, and mayreduce manufacturing costs by reducing inspection time. Moreover,embodiments of the present disclosure may provide improved consistencyin wafer taping processes.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a wafer taping apparatus 100,in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.The wafer taping apparatus 100 includes a wafer table 102 on which awafer 104 is positioned during a wafer taping process. The wafer 104 maybe a semiconductor wafer, which in some embodiments may includeelectrical features on a front side of the wafer 104. In someembodiments, the wafer 104 may be a monocrystalline silicon (Si) wafer,an amorphous Si wafer, a gallium arsenide (GaAs) wafer, or any othersemiconductor wafer.

Tape 106 is supplied from a tape supply 108. The tape supply 108 may bea roll of tape 106, and the tape 106 may be provided to a nip roller110, for example, by unwinding the tape 106 from the tape supply 108. Insome embodiments, the tape 106 includes a release film or liner 107which may be provided over an adhesive tape 105, for example, to preventthe adhesive tape 105 from sticking to itself. In some embodiments, theadhesive tape 105 includes an adhesive material (e.g., a glue material)on a backing. The backing and/or the liner 107 may be formed of anysuitable material, including for example, polyolefin, polyvinyl chloride(PVC), polyethylene (PE) or the like. The adhesive material may be anyadhesive material, for example, an acrylic material or any glue suitableto adhere to the wafer 104. In some embodiments, the tape 106 may be aback grinding tape suitable to protect the front side of the wafer 104from damage by foreign matter, chipping, cracking, contamination or thelike during a back grinding process.

In some embodiments, the nip roller 110 separates the liner 107 from theadhesive tape 105, and the liner 107 is supplied along a liner windingpath 111 to a liner film wind 112, which winds the liner 107 after ithas been separated from the adhesive tape 105. The adhesive tape 105 isadvanced along a laminating path 113 to a desired position, e.g., to aposition over the wafer 104 on the table 102. A tape wind 116 winds theadhesive tape 105, for example, after the adhesive tape 105 has beenused or otherwise advanced over the table 102 and/or wafer 104, and thetape wind 116 receives the adhesive tape 105 after it passes through aremoving head 118.

Taping of the wafer 104 is performed with the adhesive tape 105positioned over the wafer 104 on the table 102. In some embodiments, theadhesive tape 105 may be positioned over a front side of the wafer 104,for example, to protect the electrical features on the wafer 104 duringa subsequent back grinding process in which a back side of the wafer 104is thinned to a desired dimension.

With the adhesive tape 105 suitably positioned over the wafer 104, alaminating roller 114 is used to apply the adhesive tape 105 to thewafer 104. In some embodiments, the laminating roller 114 is movableover the wafer 104 and applies the adhesive tape 105 to the wafer 104 bypressing the adhesive tape 105 to the wafer 104 as the laminating roller114 moves over the surface of the wafer 104. The laminating roller 114includes various electrical and/or mechanical features, such as motors,actuators, or the like which may be utilized to control the movements ofthe laminating roller 114 such as a speed of the laminating roller 114and a laminating force (e.g., a downforce) applied by the laminatingroller 114 while pressing the adhesive tape 105 to the wafer 104.

In some embodiments, the laminating roller 114 includes or is otherwisecommunicatively coupled to a laminating roller controller 120. Thelaminating roller controller 120 includes circuitry operable to controlone or more parameters of the laminating roller 114. For example, insome embodiments, the laminating roller controller 120 includescircuitry operable to adjust the speed of the laminating roller 114 andthe downforce applied by the laminating roller 114 while pressing theadhesive tape 105 to the wafer 104.

The wafer taping apparatus 100 further includes a laser head 130 and animage sensor 140, each of which may be positioned over the wafer 104,for example, when the wafer 104 is positioned on the table 102. In someembodiments, the laser head 130 is operable to cut the adhesive tape 105after the adhesive tape 105 has been applied to the wafer 104. The imagesensor 140 is operable to acquire an image of the adhesive tape 105 onceit has been applied to the wafer 104. In some embodiments, the imagesensor 140 acquires one or more images of the adhesive tape 105 afterthe adhesive tape has been cut, for example, by the laser head 130.

The image sensor 140 may be any image sensor capable of detecting imageinformation, for example, image information associated with the adhesivetape 105 and the wafer 104, and in various embodiments, the image sensor140 may be an analog or a digital image sensor capable of detectingimage information in the form of electromagnetic radiation such as lightthat is reflected by an object (e.g., the adhesive tape 105 on the wafer104) in an image scene. In some embodiments, the image sensor 140 is acharge-coupled device (CCD) image sensor operable to acquire imageinformation associated with the adhesive tape 105 and the wafer 104.

In some embodiments, the image sensor 140 is attached to the laser head130. For example, the image sensor 140 may be mounted on a surface, suchas a side surface, of the laser head 130, and the image sensor 140 mayhave an unobstructed view of the wafer 104 and the adhesive tape 105 onthe wafer 104. In various embodiments, the laser head 130 may be movableand may include various electrical and/or mechanical features, such asmotors, actuators, or the like to move the laser head 130 in anydirection and to any position suitable to cut the adhesive tape 105.Similarly, in some embodiments, the laser head 130 may be movable toorient the image sensor 140 over the adhesive tape 105 and wafer 104 inorder to acquire suitable image information.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a wafer tape defect recognitionsystem 200, in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.The wafer tape defect recognition system 200 may be used in conjunctionwith, and may include one or more of the features and functionality of,the wafer taping apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 1. In some embodiments, thewafer tape defect recognition system 200 is included as a part of thewafer taping apparatus 100. The wafer tape defect recognition system 200may be utilized to determine, based on the image information acquired bythe image sensor 140, the presence of one or more taping defects on thewafer 104, such as a defect in the adhesive tape 105 on the wafer 104.

As shown in FIG. 2, the wafer tape defect recognition system 200includes defect recognition circuitry 210 and a defect image database212.

The defect recognition circuitry 210 may include, or otherwise beexecuted by, a computer processor configured to perform the variousfunctions and operations described herein. For example, the defectrecognition circuitry 210 may be executed by a computer processorselectively activated or reconfigured by a stored computer program, ormay be a specially constructed computing platform for carrying out thefeatures and operations described herein.

In some embodiments, the defect recognition circuitry 210 includesmemory which stores instructions for performing one or more of thefeatures or operations described herein, and the defect recognitioncircuitry 210 be operable to execute instructions stored, for example,in the memory to perform the functions of the defect recognitioncircuitry 210 described herein. The memory may be or include anycomputer-readable storage medium, including, for example, read-onlymemory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), flash memory, hard disk drive,optical storage device, magnetic storage device, electrically erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EEPROM), organic storage media, or thelike.

The image information acquired by the image sensor 140 may be providedto the defect recognition circuitry 210, for example, via acommunications network 201. The communications network 201 may utilizeone or more protocols to communicate via one or more physical networks,including local area networks, wireless networks, dedicated lines,intranets, the Internet, and the like. In some embodiments, thecommunications network 201 includes one or more electrical wires whichcommunicatively couple the image sensor 140 to the defect recognitioncircuitry 210.

The defect recognition circuitry 210 receives the image informationacquired from the image sensor 140, and determines whether the receivedimage information indicates the presence of one or more taping defectsin the adhesive tape 105 on the wafer 104. In some embodiments, thedefect recognition circuitry 210 determines, based on the received imageinformation, a type of defect in the adhesive tape 105 on the wafer 104.

In some embodiments, the defect recognition circuitry 210 may determinethe presence and/or type of defects based on the received imageinformation by employing one or more artificial intelligence techniques,which in some embodiments may be implemented at least in part by thedefect image database 212. Some or all of the determinations describedherein that are made by the defect recognition circuitry 210 may beperformed automatically by the defect recognition circuitry 210, forexample, in response to receiving the acquired image information.

“Artificial intelligence” is used herein to broadly describe anycomputationally intelligent systems and methods that can learn knowledge(e.g., based on training data), and use such learned knowledge to adaptits approaches for solving one or more problems, for example, by makinginferences based on a received input, such as image information.Artificially intelligent machines may employ, for example, neuralnetwork, deep learning, convolutional neural network, Bayesian programlearning, and pattern recognition techniques to solve problems such asdefect recognition in an image. Further, artificial intelligence mayinclude any one or combination of the following computationaltechniques: constraint program, fuzzy logic, classification,conventional artificial intelligence, symbolic manipulation, fuzzy settheory, evolutionary computation, cybernetics, data mining, approximatereasoning, derivative-free optimization, decision trees, and/or softcomputing. Employing one or more computationally intelligent techniques,the defect recognition circuitry 210 may learn to determine the presenceand/or a type of one or more defects in the adhesive tape 105 and thewafer 104.

The defect image database 212 may include a variety of informationfacilitating image analysis, with respect to received image informationacquired by the image sensor 140, by the defect recognition circuitry210. In particular, the defect image database 212 may contain imageinformation relating to various defects in an adhesive tape on a wafer.In some embodiments, the defect image database 212 may includeinformation associated with particular types of defects in adhesivetapes applied to wafers, including, for example, bubble defects andnon-bubble defects.

A bubble defect is a defect in which a bubble of air or other fluid istrapped between the adhesive tape 105 and the wafer 104. FIG. 3A is atop view illustrating an example bubble defect 305, and FIG. 3B is across-sectional view illustrating the bubble defect 305. As shown inFIGS. 3A and 3B, the bubble defect 305 includes a bubble of air 307between the adhesive tape 105 and the wafer 104. Such a bubble defect305 may be caused, for example, by insufficient downforce and/or by aspeed (e.g., too fast) of the laminating roller 114 during lamination ofthe adhesive tape 105 to the wafer 104.

A non-bubble defect may be any other defect in or between the adhesivetape 105 and the wafer 104, including, for example, a particle betweenthe adhesive tape 105 and the wafer, a bend, fold, or wrinkle of theadhesive tape 105 on the wafer, a hole or other tear in the adhesivetape 105, or the like. FIG. 4A is a top view illustrating an examplenon-bubble defect 315, and FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional viewillustrating the non-bubble defect 315. More particularly, FIGS. 4A and4B illustrate an example non-bubble defect in the form of a particle 317between the adhesive tape 105 and the wafer 104.

FIG. 5A is a top view and FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view illustratingan adhesive tape 105 on a wafer 104 which is free of bubble andnon-bubble defects.

Referring again to FIG. 2, the defect image database 212 may containimage information associated with bubble defects (e.g., as shown inFIGS. 3A and 3B) and non-bubble defects (e.g., as shown in FIGS. 4A and4B), and in some embodiments, the defect image database 212 may furthercontain image information associated with adhesive tape 105 on a wafer104 which is free of bubble and non-bubble defects (e.g., as shown inFIGS. 5A and 5B). Each of these three conditions (i.e., bubble defect,non-bubble defect, no defect) may be identifiable based on particularcharacteristics exhibited, for example, in the images acquired by theimage sensor 140. In some embodiments, the conditions (i.e., bubbledefect, non-bubble defect, no defect) may be determined based on anoptical parameter in the received images, such as an intensity of lightthat is reflected by particular positions of the adhesive tape 105 andreceived by the image sensor 140. For example, light that is reflectedby a bubble defect 305, light that is reflected by a non-bubble defect315, and light that is reflected by a defect-free adhesive tape 105 mayeach have different intensities when received by the image sensor 140.

In some embodiments, the defect recognition circuitry 210 may determinethe presence and/or type of defects by analyzing particularcharacteristics, such as the intensity of light, associated with theimage information received from the image sensor 140. The defectrecognition circuitry 210 may analyze the characteristics associatedwith the image information received from the image sensor 140 based on,or otherwise accessing or drawing from, defect image information orlearned knowledge stored in the defect image database 212. The defectimage database 212 may be stored in any computer-readable storage mediumaccessible by the defect recognition circuitry 210.

In some embodiments, the defect recognition circuitry 210 may be trainedbased on training data 220. The training data 220 may include any imageinformation, and in some embodiments, the training data 220 may belabeled training data from which the defect recognition circuitry 210may learn to detect defects and, in some embodiments, to classify a typeof detected defect (e.g., as a bubble or non-bubble defect). Forexample, the training data 220 may include a variety of training imagesor image information associated with bubble defects, non-bubble defects,and no defects. Each such training image included in the training data220 may have slightly different characteristics (e.g., representingdifferent intensities of light), and each training image included in thetraining data 220 may be labeled, for example, as representing a bubbledefect, a non-bubble defect, or no defects. In some embodiments, thetraining data 220 may include training images representative of two ormore defects, which may be bubble defects, non-bubble defects, or somecombination of bubble and non-bubble defects.

The training data 220 may further include non-image information whichmay be provided to the defect recognition circuitry 210 for training.For example, the training data 220 may include manually-entered input,such as one or more variable or adjustable parameters, coefficientvalues, labels, classifiers, or the like, to adjust or otherwise managethe defect recognition model developed in the defect recognitioncircuitry 210 through the training process.

The defect recognition circuitry 210 may implement an iterative learningprocess using the training data 220. Training may be based on a widevariety of learning algorithms or models, including, for example,support vector machines, linear regression, logistic regression, naiveBayes, linear discriminant analysis, decision trees, k-nearest neighbor,neural networks, or the like.

As a result of the training, the defect recognition circuitry 210 maylearn to modify its behavior in response to the training data 220, andobtain or generate defect image knowledge which may be stored in thedefect image database 212. The defect image knowledge may represent anyinformation upon which the defect recognition circuitry 210 maydetermine the presence of and/or type of defects in the adhesive tape105 on the wafer 104. In particular, the defect image knowledgerepresents relationships between image information (such as may bereceived from the image sensor 140) and the presence or absence ofdefects such as bubble defects and non-bubble defects. The defect imageknowledge stored in the defect image database 212 may include, forexample, information associated with one or more functions, parameters,coefficients, weighting information, parameters associated with a neuralnetwork shown, or any variable which may be utilized by the defectrecognition circuitry 210 to determine the presence or absence ofdefects and/or a type of any such defects. In some embodiments, thedefect recognition circuitry 210 may further determine a location orposition of a detected defect based on the images received from theimage sensor 140.

In some embodiments, the defect recognition circuitry 210 iscommunicatively coupled to the laminating roller controller 120 by acommunications network 202. The communications network 202 may besubstantially the same as the communications network 201, in someembodiments, and may utilize one or more protocols to communicate viaone or more physical networks, including local area networks, wirelessnetworks, dedicated lines, intranets, the Internet, and the like. Insome embodiments, the communications network 202 includes one or moreelectrical wires which communicatively couple the defect recognitioncircuitry 210 to the laminating roller controller 120.

In response to determining the presence of a defect, the defectrecognition circuitry 210 may output control signals to the laminatingroller controller 120, which may automatically control one or moreoperational parameters of the laminating roller 114 based on thedetermined defect. For example, in a case where the defect recognitioncircuitry 210 determines the presence of a bubble defect in the adhesivetape 105 on the wafer 104, the defect recognition circuitry 210 mayoutput a control signal to the laminating roller controller 120, and thelaminating roller controller 120 may adjust a downforce and/or alamination speed of the laminating roller 114. Such adjustment mayprevent or otherwise reduce the occurrence of bubble defects insubsequent applications of adhesive tape to one or more wafers.

In some embodiments, in response to the defect recognition circuitry 210determining that the adhesive tape 105 on the wafer 104 is free ofdefects, the wafer 104 and adhesive tape 105 may be provided to anotherapparatus (e.g., a back grinding apparatus) or otherwise may besubjected to further processing (e.g., back grinding of the wafer 104).

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a wafer taping method 600, inaccordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. At602, an adhesive tape 105 is applied to a wafer 104. The wafer 104 maybe positioned on a table 102, and the adhesive tape 105 may be appliedby the wafer taping apparatus 100, as shown in and described withrespect to FIG. 1. For example, tape 106 may be supplied from a tapesupply 108, and a liner 107 may be separated from the adhesive tape 105by a nip roller 110. The adhesive tape 105 may be advanced along thelaminating path 113 to a desired position over the wafer 104 on thetable 102, and the laminating roller 114 may move over the wafer 104 ata particular speed and with a particular downforce to apply the adhesivetape 105 to a surface (e.g., a front side) of the wafer 104. In someembodiments, the adhesive tape 105 is a back grinding tape which isapplied to the wafer 104 prior to back grinding the wafer 104. In someembodiments, applying the adhesive tape 105 to the wafer 104 at 602further includes cutting the adhesive tape 105 after it has beenapplied, for example, using the laser head 130.

At 604, the adhesive tape 105 on the wafer 104 is imaged, for example,by the image sensor 140. In some embodiments, the image sensor 140 is aCCD image sensor which acquires one or more images of the adhesive tape105 on the wafer 104. The acquired images may include image informationsuch as intensities of light reflected by the adhesive tape 105 on thewafer 104 and received by the image sensor 140.

At 606, a presence or absence of defects in the adhesive tape 105 andthe wafer 104 is determined, and in some embodiments, a type of anypresent defects is determined. In some embodiments, the defectrecognition circuitry 210 receives image information acquired by theimage sensor 140 and determines whether defects are present, and in someembodiments determines a type of any such defects, based on the receivedimage information. The defect recognition circuitry 210 may determinethe presence or absence of defects, as well as a type of defects, byemploying one or more artificial intelligence techniques, which may beimplemented at least in part in conjunction with the defect imagedatabase 212. In some embodiments, the defect recognition circuitry 210determines the presence of defects and/or a type of defects drawing fromknowledge that is learned through training of the defect recognitioncircuitry 210 and stored in the defect image database 212.

In some embodiments, if no defects are detected in the adhesive tape 105and the wafer 104 (e.g., if the defect recognition circuitry 210determines that no defects are present), the taped wafer may be releasedat 608, for example, for further processing such as back grinding of thewafer 104. More particularly, in response to determining that tapingdefects are not present on the wafer 104, the taped wafer may thenproceed to a back grinding process in which a back side or back surfaceof the wafer 104 is thinned to particular specifications while the frontside is protected by the adhesive tape 105.

In some embodiments, if a non-bubble defect is detected, for example,between the adhesive tape 105 and the wafer 104, then the adhesive tape105 is removed as shown at 610. Removing the tape at 610 may beperformed by any technique which suitably removes the adhesive tape 105from the wafer 104, and in some embodiments, removing the tape at 610may further include preparing the wafer 104 for a new application oftape. In some embodiments, the adhesive tape 105 may be removed from thewafer 104 using a tape removal apparatus capable of removing theadhesive tape 105 without causing damage to electrical features on oradjacent to the front side of the wafer 104. In some embodiments,removal of the adhesive tape 105 from the wafer 104 may include treatingthe adhesive tape 105 with ultraviolet (UV) irradiation to decrease theadhesive strength of the adhesive tape 105 and thereby facilitate easyremoval without placing additional stress on the wafer 104 while peelingoff the adhesive tape 105.

Once the adhesive tape 105 has been removed from the wafer 104, thewafer 104 may be re-taped, for example, at 602 in which a new layer ofadhesive tape 105 is applied to the wafer 104. The method 600 may thenproceed as previously described, for example, the new layer of adhesivetape 105 on the wafer 104 may be imaged at 604, and defects may bedetermined at 606.

In some embodiments, if a bubble defect is detected at 606, then one ormore operational parameters of the laminating roller 114 may be adjustedat 612. For example, when the defect recognition circuitry 210determines the presence of a bubble defect in the adhesive tape 105 onthe wafer 104, the defect recognition circuitry 210 may output a controlsignal to the laminating roller controller 120, and the laminatingroller controller 120 may adjust a downforce and/or a lamination speedof the laminating roller 114. In some embodiments, the downforce appliedby the laminating roller 114 is increased in response to a bubble defectbeing detected at 606. In some embodiments, the speed at which thelaminating roller 114 moves over the adhesive tape 105 while pressingthe adhesive tape 105 to the wafer may be decreased in response to abubble defect being detected at 606. By adjusting the operationalparameters of the laminating roller 114 at 612, the occurrence of bubbledefects may be prevented or reduced in subsequent applications ofadhesive tape to wafers, for example, at 602.

The method 600 proceeds to 610, in which the adhesive tape 105 isremoved from the wafer 104, thereby removing the bubble defect. Once theadhesive tape 105 has been removed from the wafer 104, the wafer 104 maybe re-taped, for example, at 602 in which a new layer of adhesive tape105 is applied to the wafer 104 using the adjusted operationalparameters of the laminating roller 114. The method 600 may then proceedas previously described, for example, the new layer of adhesive tape 105on the wafer 104 may be imaged at 604, and defects may be determined at606.

In some embodiments, the wafer 104 may be categorized as a non-processwafer in response to detecting the presence of either bubble ornon-bubble defects at block 606. For example, the wafer 104 may proceedto 610, in which the adhesive tape 105 is removed from the wafer 104,and the wafer 104 may then be placed in a slot, for example of a wafercarrier or the like, indicating that the wafer 104 is not currentlybeing processed, but instead is a non-process wafer awaiting furtherprocessing. Accordingly, another wafer may proceed to be processed,e.g., by the wafer taping method 600.

The present disclosure provides, in various embodiments, apparatuses andmethods that may be utilized to automatically determine whether tapingdefects are present on a taped semiconductor wafer. This results in costand time savings, since the taped wafer can be inspected by machineryinstead of by a visual inspection performed by a human. Additionally,the apparatuses and methods described by the present disclosurefacilitate improved and more consistent inspection for taping defects asthe inspection does not rely on variations in human judgment and reducesor eliminates errors introduced by such human judgment.

According to one embodiment, a method includes applying an adhesive tapeon a surface of a semiconductor wafer. An imaging device, which may bepositioned over the semiconductor wafer, acquires image informationassociated with the adhesive tape on the semiconductor wafer. The methodfurther includes determining, by defect recognition circuitry, whether ataping defect is present on the semiconductor wafer based on theacquired image information.

According to another embodiment, an apparatus is provided that includesa laminating roller configured to apply tape to a surface of a wafer. Animaging device is configured to acquire image information associatedwith the tape on the wafer. The apparatus further includes defectrecognition circuitry that is configured to determine, based on theacquired image information, whether a taping defect is present on thewafer.

According to yet another embodiment, a wafer processing method isprovided that includes receiving a semiconductor wafer. A laminatingroller applies an adhesive tape on a first surface of the semiconductorwafer, and an imaging device acquires image information associated withthe adhesive tape on the semiconductor wafer and outputs the imageinformation to defect recognition circuitry. The defect recognitioncircuitry determines whether a taping defect is present on thesemiconductor wafer based on the image information. The method furtherincludes grinding a second surface of the semiconductor wafer, oppositethe first surface, in response to determining that the semiconductorwafer is free of taping defects.

The foregoing outlines features of several embodiments so that thoseskilled in the art may better understand the aspects of the presentdisclosure. Those skilled in the art should appreciate that they mayreadily use the present disclosure as a basis for designing or modifyingother processes and structures for carrying out the same purposes and/orachieving the same advantages of the embodiments introduced herein.Those skilled in the art should also realize that such equivalentconstructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the presentdisclosure, and that they may make various changes, substitutions, andalterations herein without departing from the spirit and scope of thepresent disclosure.

The various embodiments described above can be combined to providefurther embodiments. These and other changes can be made to theembodiments in light of the above-detailed description. In general, inthe following claims, the terms used should not be construed to limitthe claims to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specificationand the claims, but should be construed to include all possibleembodiments along with the full scope of equivalents to which suchclaims are entitled. Accordingly, the claims are not limited by thedisclosure.

1. A method, comprising: applying an adhesive tape on a surface of asemiconductor wafer; acquiring, by an imaging device, image informationassociated with the adhesive tape on the semiconductor wafer; anddetermining, by defect recognition circuitry, whether a taping defect ispresent on the semiconductor wafer based on the acquired imageinformation.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein the applying an adhesivetape includes applying the adhesive tape on the surface of thesemiconductor wafer by a laminating roller, the method furthercomprising: adjusting an operational parameter of the laminating rollerin response to determining that a taping defect is present on thesemiconductor wafer.
 3. The method of claim 2 wherein the adjusting anoperational parameter of the laminating roller includes adjusting atleast one of a laminating roller downforce or a laminating roller speed.4. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining, based on theacquired image information, a type of the taping defect on thesemiconductor wafer, in response to determining that a taping defect ispresent on the semiconductor wafer.
 5. The method of claim 4 wherein thedetermining a type of taping defect on the semiconductor wafer includesdetermining whether at least one of a bubble defect or a non-bubbledefect is present on the semiconductor wafer.
 6. The method of claim 5wherein the applying an adhesive tape includes applying the adhesivetape on the surface of the semiconductor wafer by a laminating roller,the method further comprising: adjusting at least one of a laminatingroller downforce or a laminating roller speed in response to determininga bubble defect is present on the semiconductor wafer.
 7. The method ofclaim 6, further comprising: removing the adhesive tape from thesemiconductor wafer; applying a second adhesive tape on the surface ofthe semiconductor wafer; acquiring, by the imaging device, second imageinformation associated with the second adhesive tape; and determining,by the defect recognition circuitry, whether a taping defect is presenton the semiconductor wafer based on the acquired second imageinformation.
 8. The method of claim 5, further comprising: removing theadhesive tape from the semiconductor wafer in response to determining anon-bubble defect is present on the semiconductor wafer; applying asecond adhesive tape on the surface of the semiconductor wafer;acquiring, by the imaging device, second image information associatedwith the second adhesive tape; and determining, by the defectrecognition circuitry, whether a taping defect is present on thesemiconductor wafer based on the acquired second image information. 9.The method of claim 1 wherein the determining whether a taping defect ispresent on the semiconductor wafer includes: determining whether ataping defect is present on the semiconductor wafer by implementing oneor more artificial intelligence techniques by the defect recognitioncircuitry, the defect recognition circuitry being communicativelycoupled to the imaging device.
 10. The method of claim 9 whereindetermining whether a taping defect is present on the semiconductorwafer includes accessing, by the defect recognition circuitry, defectimage information stored in a defect image database.
 11. An apparatus,comprising: a laminating roller configured to apply a tape to a surfaceof a wafer; an imaging device configured to acquire image informationassociated with the tape on the wafer; defect recognition circuitryconfigured to determine, based on the acquired image information,whether a taping defect is present on the wafer; and a controllercommunicatively coupled to the defect recognition circuitry andconfigured to adjust an operational parameter of the laminating rollerin response to the defect recognition circuitry determining that ataping defect is present on the semiconductor wafer.
 12. The apparatusof claim 11, further comprising: a wafer table, the wafer beingpositioned on the wafer table; and a laser head positioned over thewafer table and configured to cut the tape on the wafer.
 13. Theapparatus of claim 12 wherein the imaging device is mounted to the laserhead.
 14. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the imaging device comprisesa charge-coupled device.
 15. The apparatus of claim 11, furthercomprising: a defect image database configured to store defect imageinformation, the defect recognition circuitry being configured todetermine whether a taping defect is present on the wafer based on theacquired image information and on the defect image information stored inthe defect image database.
 16. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein thedefect recognition circuitry is further configured to determine whetherat least one of a bubble defect or a non-bubble defect is present on thewafer.
 17. A wafer processing method, comprising: receiving asemiconductor wafer; applying, by a laminating roller, an adhesive tapeon a first surface of the semiconductor wafer; acquiring, by an imagingdevice, image information associated with the adhesive tape on thesemiconductor wafer; outputting the image information to defectrecognition circuitry; determining, by the defect recognition circuitry,whether a taping defect is present on the semiconductor wafer based onthe image information; and grinding a second surface of thesemiconductor wafer, opposite the first surface, in response todetermining that the semiconductor wafer is free of taping defects. 18.The method of claim 17 wherein determining whether a taping defect ispresent on the semiconductor wafer includes determining whether at leastone of a bubble defect or a non-bubble defect is present on thesemiconductor wafer.
 19. The method of claim 18, further comprising:adjusting at least one of a downforce or a speed of the laminatingroller in response to determining a bubble defect is present on thesemiconductor wafer.
 20. The method of claim 17, further comprising:removing the adhesive tape from the semiconductor wafer in response todetermining a taping defect is present on the semiconductor wafer;applying a second adhesive tape on the first surface of thesemiconductor wafer; acquiring, by the imaging device, second imageinformation associated with the second adhesive tape; and determining,by the defect recognition circuitry, whether a taping defect is presenton the semiconductor wafer based on the second image information.